Hello!
Yeah, I know it's been wayyy too long since my last update. A huge thanks to all those old readers who stuck with my story. And a Hi to the new ones! :)
Without further ado, I present you this brand new update.
6. At crossroads... (Ross)
The jingling of the keys announced Ross's appearance in the corridor leading to his apartment, as he twirled them around in a carefree fashion. He was just about to insert the keys in his door when he was interrupted by his neighbour, who had apparently heard him coming.
"You are back?!"
Ross turned to face him with an annoyed look on his face.
"Yeah. I was gone for just a couple of days."
"Oh man! I thought you had gone for good!" he replied, sounding seriously put-out.
Ross was about to respond when his neighbour turned his back towards him and the magnitude of the scenario struck him.
"Guys! The party's off! Gel-err is back." he announced to the crowd, which seemed in the middle of a celebration.
Loud groans and moans were heard following this statement, while Ross found it impossible to believe that somebody could hate him so much simply because he hadn't paid a hundred bucks for a man he didn't know at all. And that too more than five years back.
"That's right, suckers! I'm staying!" he shouted as his eyes caught two men bringing down the huge 'He is gone!' banner.
Muttering to himself, he opened the door lost in thought. Perhaps it would be better to go to Paris after all, if only to get rid of these loathsome neighbors. And it wasn't like it could not be done. En route, he had browsed through various jobs available at the museums in Paris and had found himself overqualified for most of them. Even the Louvre wouldn't mind having him. Apparently, getting a job wasn't a problem at all. It was just an excuse at best.
Sitting on the sofa, he hit the button on his answering machine to listen to the messages which had accumulated over the last four days.
'You have 3 new messages.'
'Just three?' he thought, frowning as he did so. Then again, he hadn't been much social in the past month. Most of his colleagues and friends had probably given up.
The first message was from his ex-wife, Carol.
'Hey Ross, it's me. I just wanted to let you know that this Thursday, Ben will be playing his first ever interschool football match...
(Carol's voice was interrupted with a loud 'Yay!' from Ben. She let out a laugh, obviously amused at his excitement.)
'And as you can see, he's looking forward to it...'
(Another loud 'Very much!' is heard in the background.)
'So it would really mean a lot to him if you'd be there. Call me when you get this. Oh and how was your trip to Paris? Let me know. I gotta go, now. Bye!'
Ross smiled at his son's excitement, which reminded him that he still had a child to father, here in New York. Yes. He would definitely be there.
He didn't have much time to reflect on that though as the machine beeped and a new voice was heard, this time the owner being his sister.
'Errm... Ross?... Hi. It's me.' she said, her voice being unusually quiet which made him miss her loud, bossy self for once.
I.. err... I just wanted to ask you if you would be coming to our weekly dinner this Friday. I mean.. it'll be totally okay if you... I mean I totally get it if you don't want to. But I just wanted to let you know that I'd be cooking your favourites!'
There was a short but noticeable pause before she continued, obviously hesitant.
'And... that I support you no matter what you decide. We... I crossed a line. I'm sorry. Call me when you get this, alright? Or don't. I'd understand either ways... Bye.'
Ross felt shame coursing through his veins as he recalled his outburst. It hadn't been her mistake. She simply wanted the best for him. Of course he would be visiting.
The third message caught him off-guard. It was from the office of the head of the history department, which was a rare occurrence in itself. He closed in, so as to hear the message properly.
'Good morning, Dr.Geller. This is Lidya, calling from the office of Dr.Brandon. I've been told to inform you that Dr Brandon requires you to call him personally ASAP. I request you to do the needful. Have a good day!'
Calling ASAP?! Why? What kind of emergency had struck the history department? There were many running jokes in the campus based on the absurdness of the thought. Nevertheless, he immediately picked up the receiver and placed the call.
It was picked up almost immediately.
"Hello? Dr. Brandon?" he asked, a little hesitant.
"Call me Rex, will you?" said the voice at the other end.
"I...?" was all that Ross could manage, obviously unaware that the HOD knew his nickname in the department. Is that what this was all about?
"Isn't that what you guys call me behind my back? Tyrannosaurus Rex?" Dr. Brandon continued on Ross's lack of response.
Hearing nothing at the other end, Dr Brandon laughed, relaxing the tension in the air.
"You need not freak out, Geller. I'm okay with it. In fact, I quite like it."
Relieved, Ross decided to pursue the matter in hand.
"Rex. You said I was supposed to call you urgently?"
"Oh yeah. As you may have heard, I'm retiring at the end of this month."
"Yeah, I did." Ross replied, nonplussed. They did have a 'secret' party planned for just the same.
"Well...the university's gonna need someone to fill in my shoes."
"Nobody can fill in your shoes, Rex. They are wayyy too large." Ross said, smirking. Dr. Brandon did have literally HUGE feet.
"Haha... You know what I mean." Dr. Brandon replied, immune to the pun.
"Yes. Yes, I do."
There was a sudden silence as Ross finally realised the purpose of the call. It was a promotion. A promotion which he wasn't quite sure he wanted to take.
"Do I have to state the obvious, Ross?!"
"Apply for the position, for God's sake!" Dr. Brandon said after hearing nothing but static at the other end.
"You know that as well as I do that currently you are the most eligible person for the job! Just apply and the job is yours!"
Ross sighed before he finally came up with a response.
"I... I need some time to decide, Rex."
"Time?... For what?! There's double the money, you get two assistants, hardly give any lectures.. God, that's a huge relief! And the office! You've been in my office, it's huge! Million times better than that stuffy cubicle of yours."
'That's true, Rex! But currently I don't even know whether I want a f*kin' job in New York!', Ross wanted to shout. Instead, he compromised with a single statement.
"I have some personal issues, Rex. I'm sorry, I just.. Give me some time, alright?"
"Look Ross, I don't know you that well, but what I do know is that life doesn't present such opportunities often. And when you do get them, you grab 'em! You have two days to fill in an application. Sorry, but that's all the time that I can give."
Ross rubbed his forehead and nodded as he said,
"Thank you, Rex. I'll let you know shortly."
As Ross put the receiver down, Chandler's voice ran through his head
'Could my life BE any more messed up?!'
* * *
"So how was your day, sweetie?" Rachel asked her almost two year old daughter as she picked her up from the daycare and made her way towards her apartment.
"Did you like your new nanny?" she asked her in a baby voice, while Emma only stared at her. Rachel smiled, feeling nothing but pure joy to finally have her daughter in her arms after a long and tiring day.
"I miss you." Emma said after a while, as they reached their doorstep.
"Aww! You did?" Rachel asked, to which Emma nodded vigorously.
"Momma's gonna be with you all night, sweetheart. I promise." she said as she pushed the door open with her side.
"Mommy?" Emma asked as Rachel placed her on the sofa and busied herself with placing the takeaway.
"Yes honey?" she asked, her face scrutinizing the freezer.
"Where's daddy?" Emma asked, with all the innocent curiosity that a child possesses.
Suddenly Rachel found herself glad that the freezer door hid her face. For tears had sprung in her eyes.
"I miss him."
Rachel didn't know quite what to say and even if she did her voice was too caught up to give her daughter a legible response.
"I miss him too..." was all that she could muster.
* * *
'Sometimes things don't happen the way you want them to because you just haven't tried hard enough. Unbeknownst to you, a last push may be all that you need.
Sometimes it's because you keep making the wrong choices, yet choose to blame the circumstances over and over again.
While sometimes... it is life's way of making you realise that it's simply not meant to be. Not now and not ever.'
Ross re-read the prologue of the book, courtesy of the flight that brought him back 'home'. He let out a sigh, contemplating. Right until today he had been absolutely sure that it had been the first two statements which applied to him and Rachel. Today however, he wasn't quite sure.
Letting his daughter go had been the second hardest thing he had ever done in his entire life. The first? Letting her go. And it wasn't like he hadn't felt the tension rise between them when they had closed in on each other, back at the airport. For a second, (if only for a second) he had indeed imagined kissing her on the lips, wondering if they would still taste the same. (Of course they would! They had only gotten better over the years.) And he had been quite sure that the feeling had been mutual.
There lied the problem.
For he could remember hundreds, may be even thousands of situations where he had been so sure of something, only to be proven wrong seconds later. And every time that had happened, he had thawed, bit by bit, until his insecurities had become paramount. He remembered the times when he had become so jealous and unsure of everything that had gone on in his life. Could he risk that once more?
And was it even worth it?
As he stared into the darkened sky, he felt he knew the answer.
Ofourse it was. It was about Rachel.
* * *
"Yello!" came Chandler's voice amidst the bawling of a young infant, or perhaps infants.
Hearing nothing but silence, Chandler stared quizzically at the phone before he spoke again.
"Hello?"
Chandler was about to end the call when finally there was a response from the other end.
"C.. Chandler? Is.. Is Monica there?" Rachel asked, her voice shaky.
"Rachel?.." Chandler exclaimed, concerned. "Yeah. Hold on for a second will you? Actually, know what? Just stay on line. It takes decades to pacify Erica. And then just when you've thought that you've done it, Jack sets off! God knows it ain't easy raising a kid, huh Rach?"
Rachel could only manage a weak chuckle as Chandler was unaware of how differently yet deeply the statement rang true for her.
Sensing Rachel's distress, Chandler decided that now wasn't the best time.
"I'll be back."
"Mon? Mon?! There's a call for you!" she heard Chandler call.
"Tell them to leave a message." came Monica's voice.
"It's Rachel." was all that Chandler had to say before there was scurrying heard on the other end and soon Monica was on line.
"Hey Rach, what's up? How was your weekend? What happened? Tell me everything!" she exclaimed with all the excitement of a teenage girl.
"It's Ross..." Rachel said as her eyes brimmed with tears again.
"What happened?" Monica asked, concerned. "You two didn't fight, did you?"
"Not exactly..." Rachel replied, cringing. They did have a 'minor' row, but it really didn't seem like a fight to her.
"Okay..." Monica said, puzzled. She wanted to know the details, but realised by Rachel's tone that the reason for her call was yet to be revealed.
"I think... I think that I'm still in love with him." she said.
"WHAT?!" Really? Rach, that's great news!" Monica exclaimed, barely managing to contain her excitement.
"I don't know what I should do, Mon!" Rachel said, distressed.
"Tell him! That's the obvious next step, of course!"
"I really don't think that's a good idea, Mon. I mean he's already moved on, so what's the point?"
On hearing this statement, Monica sensed that she was missing something.
"Hey there, Whoa! Who told you that he has moved on?"
"It certainly seemed like he has from the way he behaved at the airport." Rachel replied, feeling helpless.
"At the airport? When? Today? Tell me everything." Monica said, following which Rachel narrated the entire incident of how close they had come to kissing each other and how, despite feeling the passion, Ross had backed out and ended up kissing her on the forehead.
"Hmm." Monica said, after hearing it all.
"I don't know honey. To me it sounds like he was protecting himself. I still think you should confess your love."
"You do?" Rachel asked, suddenly sounding hopeful.
"It's the only way to be sure, Rach. And I really am betting on the feeling being mutual." Monica said, as she recalled the pain in Ross's eyes the last time she had seen him.
Knowing her brother, that would probably never change.
* * *
It had been a long day. Not just figuratively, but also literally as the change in timezone had made the day six hours longer. Nevertheless, it was almost midnight before he headed to the bedroom to prepare himself for the night. Before he could do that, however, his phone started to ring and he headed to the living room to receive it.
"Hey, you" came Rachel's voice, coyly.
"Hey Rach. What's up?" Ross asked, a little taken aback by Rachel's greeting.
"Nothing...Ahemm.. It's just that I had something to tell you." Rachel replied, her confidence somewhat diminished by Ross's 'cool' response.
"Oh yeah? Me too!" Ross replied as the prospect of the promotion immediately rang through his mind.
"Oh." she said, a little surprised. "Well then, you go first." she told him, wanting her confession to be delayed until the end. Like the icing on the cake.
"You sure? It did sound pretty important." Ross reasoned.
"Oh no, no, no! I can wait. You go first." Rachel replied.
"Okay." Ross said, shrugging. "Guess what?"
"What?" Rachel asked, perplexed.
"I'm getting offered a promotion. Straightaway as the head of the department!" Ross said, sounding genuinely excited.
"What?!" Rachel exclaimed in alarm. 'Oh God!' she thought.
"Yeah! Double the salary, a place in the campus, a huge office and all I have to do is to fill an application." Ross said, mistaking the reason behind Rachel's disbelief.
On the other end, Rachel was about to lose it as she felt the walls closing in upon her. She couldn't reply as controlling her composure was all that she could manage for the moment.
"Rach?" Ross asked, puzzled.
"Mmm-Hmm?" she finally said.
"Unbelievable, isn't it? Hard work finally paying off, huh?" Ross said, failing to grasp the complete somersault Rachel's emotions had taken.
"Yeah. I'm s-s-so happy for you!" Rachel finally said, as she grabbed a couple of tissues from the table.
"So you think I should take it?" Ross asked.
"Of-of course you should. Definitely! Yeah!" Rachel replied with false enthusiasm, now wanting the call to end.
"Okay, if you say so. 'Cuz I wasn't very sure about applying for it." Ross said, finally revealing a bit of his indecision.
"Why? You earned it, right?" Rachel asked, as rays of hope surged through her unknowingly.
"I..."
Ross was about to say something when suddenly Rachel's words echoed through his mind and made him swallow his words before they could be spoken...
'I mean... we were so positive that we were going to make it, weren't we?'
'She has given up on me already! What am I thinking?!' his mind seemed to shout.
And that was how a couple seconds later, he came up with a very different response.
"Oh... It's just... You know... seems like a lot of responsibility. Managing a department and all that."
'That's why, Rach! You idiot! And here you were thinking that it was because of you.' her inner self admonished her while also cursing Monica for her advice.
"Oh. Yeah. There's that too." she finally said, with a small chuckle.
"Guess you are right, though. I did earn it." Ross said, sounding proud of himself.
Of course he had. She had seen him work hard on his job, so she knew it firsthand.
"Mmm-Hmm." she replied, as tears fell freely from her eyes.
"Rach?" Ross asked, confused.
"Yeah?" she asked.
"You said you had something to tell me." he stated, wondering why Rachel hadn't brought it up by now.
"Oh. Oh, that! Yes! Emma was saying that she misses you." Rachel replied, thanking her stars that she had an excuse at hand.
"Aww... did she now? Tell her daddy misses her too! Is she awake?" Ross asked, hopeful.
"No, it's still pretty early." Rachel replied, sniffing.
"Rach? You okay?" Ross asked, after hearing her sniff a couple times.
"Yeah, absolutely!" she replied, overcompensating.
An odd silence seemed to descend on both ends as nobody seemed to know as to what they should say.
"Well... errmm... I think I should get going. I've got some documentation to submit." Ross said, not quite convinced, but brushing it off all the same.
"Yeah. Me too!" Rachel replied, glad that she didn't have to be the one to end the conversation.
"Take care, Rach." Ross said.
"Yeah, thanks. You too." Rachel replied, ending the call.
Ross latched the receiver in it's place and got up, not knowing what to make out of the whole conversation. He was about to leave the room, when a piece of paper suddenly caught his attention as it lay crumpled on the ground, his scribble visible on the underside.
Although he opened it to read, he knew it's contents beforehand having read it several times before.
'Scenario A:- Rachel's plane would get cancelled or grounded.
Scenario B:- Her position would be already filled.
Scenario C:- Eventually, she wouldn't be happy there. Or would realise that she couldn't be happy without me.'
Ross let out a sigh before he finally decided to get rid of it. Artistically, he folded the paper and made it into a plane. Gently blowing some air, he let the plane go, watching it get through the window, it's nose tilted downwards due to the weight of the ink.
More than 3000 miles away Rachel's mind had only just prepared a similar list.
* * *
"WHAT?!" Phoebe exclaimed, as she listened to Monica tell her about Rachel's confession.
"My reaction exactly!" Monica exclaimed, laughing at Phoebe's awestruck face.
"So this solves everything, right?! My lobsters get together again!" Phoebe exclaimed, hardly able to contain her excitement.
"It's not that simple, but let's just say that things are finally looking positive, yes!" Monica replied, feeling genuinely happy for her brother and her best friend.
"So when is Rachel going to tell him that?" Phoebe asked.
"She might already have. It's been three days since then and it did sound like she would be calling him the very next minute." Monica replied.
"Hang on. So let me get something straight. Rachel realized that she was in love with Ross four days back and planned to call him three days ago. Is that right?" Chandler asked.
"Yes" they replied, in chorus.
"And since then we haven't received a single call from either of them. Am I the only one who is finding this suspicious?!" Chandler asked again.
A silence fell in the room as everyone realized the validity of Chandler's statement.
"Oh my God! I know what must have happened!" Phoebe exclaimed, jumping in excitement.
"What?" Joey asked, clueless.
"They must have eloped. THEY MUST HAVE ELOPED!" Phoebe shouted.
"I... I really doubt that Pheebs." Monica said, sounding skeptic while Chandler and Joey let out murmurs of assent.
"Oh, you'll see!" Phoebe replied, confident as always.
Monica was about to say something in response when the phone began to ring.
"Oh, I bet that's them!" Phoebe exclaimed as Monica took the call.
"Hello? Oh, hey Ross! You are coming for dinner right?" Monica asked while Phoebe let out a celebratory 'Ha'.
"Oh. Why?" Monica asked perplexed, as she mouthed 'He's not coming' to the rest.
"Because he's busy on his honeymoon!" Phoebe practically shouted.
"WHAT?!" Monica asked, while the others turned to look at her.
"Pheebs is right?!" Chandler exclaimed, finding it hard to believe. As the ruckus in the living room increased, Monica shot daggers at them and they quitened down almost immediately.
"And when were you going to tell us?" Monica asked, sounding annoyed. After listening to the other end, Monica asked
"And R... Rachel? Like, you guys talked about this?"
If only Monica's words were to be considered, it sounded like Phoebe's wild guess had been right. But the gang had perceived Monica's body language and knew it couldn't mean anything good. This time the exchange went on for a good couple of minutes before Monica said,
"Oh. Well... Okay! All the best!" in a small voice before keeping the receiver and ending the call.
Three pairs of eyes were focused on Monica, eager for the verdict.
"Ross is applying for a job. As head of the department. In New York." she said, a bit pale.
"New York. So does that mean that Rachel.." Phoebe trailed, her hopes fading as she met Monica's eyes.
"Rachel will continue to live in Paris with Emma. Apparently she... encouraged Ross to take the job." Monica continued.
"What? This doesn't make sense anymore!" Joey wailed, frustrated over his friends.
"Rachel never confessed, did she?" Phoebe asked, aghast.
"Nope." Monica replied, settling heavily on the couch behind her, while nobody knew quite what to do. They had never felt more helpless.
* * *
"Mommy? Mommy? Mommy!" rang an all too familiar voice throughout the house.
" Yes, sweetheart! Momma's making pancakes for you!" she replied, mixing the batter.
"Mommy?!" Emma called again, this time more persistent.
"Momma's busy, sweetie." she replied yet again, a little ticked off.
"Mommy??!!" came her child's voice, louder than before.
"Emma, that's enough! I told you I'm busy. If it's so urgent then pester your dad and leave me alone." she admonished, as she kept the pan on the flame and added a tablespoon of butter.
"Mommy??!!..." shouted Emma, sounding desperate and broke into a sob.
Something wasn't quite right. Why was her daughter crying? All she had done was tell her to leave her alone and go to her father. And she would be there in a couple of minutes anyways, wouldn't she? All set with a plateful of her favourite chocolate chip pancakes.
"Daddy??!!... Mommy..." pleaded her daughter, her voice cracking towards the end.
As though struck by a bolt of lightning, Rachel woke up and sat straight up in bed in one fluid motion, only to hear her daughter cry desperately in the other room.
"Shit!" she exclaimed, before she made her way towards her daughter and lifted her in her arms and was relieved when Emma's sobbing gradually decreased.
"Shhh... It's okay. It's okay. Momma's here..." she whispered comfortingly into her daughter's ear.
It wasn't just something that had been wrong with the dream. It had been everything.
Since when did she learn how to make pancakes??!!
Not to point the obvious, but that hadn't been the biggest problem with the dream at all.
Hold on to your horses, fellows! :)
I wanted to ask:- Would you guys like to have slow updates (once every two weeks) Or would you like no updates for around a month or so and then a flurry of updates, say twice every week?
Let me know! Also any feedback on the chapter would be greatly appreciated!
One last thing...
You can also catch me on WordPress. My blog site is:-
www.soumitra97.wordpress . com
See ya!